Lapidary_Journal_Jewelry_Artist_-_November_-_December_2019

PHO

TOS

:^ CO

URT

ESY

HO

LLY

GA

GE^

UNL

ESS

OT

HER

WIS

E^ N

OTE

D

W

hat is stylized artistic expression? Before we get

knee deep in that discussion, let’s start by distin-

guishing between “style” and “stylized.”

When we create, we often interpret the world

in our own artistic expression. The way in which each of us does

things is our individual style. It is a combination of the distinctive

marks, features, and the way we execute our craft that defi ne

our body of work. For instance, when you see a piece of artwork,

craft, or jewelry and you know immediately who created the

work, then this artist has a very defi ning style.

A stylized artistic expression is just one of many styles used

to take an item we are generally familiar with and recognize but

change it in a simplifi ed manner for eff ect. The results are usually

not natural or spontaneous but conform to a particular set of

rules set by the artist. In other words, we move away from the

original reference in the real world by means of interpretative

Stylized

Simplifying design elements for effect

By Holly Gage

A

B

design. The cool thing is that we set

the design rules according to what we

desire, rather than according to nature

or conventional thought.

A Stylized Approach

What is the thought process behind

stylized art? This depends on the mo-

tive of the artist, so let’s take a look

and see how diff erent artists approach

the topic.

In my botanical collection, for ex-

ample, I attempt to capture a realistic

representation of nature as I see it and

try to interpret the beauty and grace

of mother nature herself. These pieces

68 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST